First systematic analysis of modern architecture in Kuwait based on several years of research.From the late 1940s at the inception of the oil exporting industry, via political independence in 1961, through to the late 1980s when Kuwait was invaded, the citystate experienced an extraordinary social and civic transformation, deeply inscribed in its built environment. The old coastal town was radically transformed through architecture and urban planning in the process of gaining wealth and autonomy. Important foreign and local architects found here the possibility to expand their professional horizons and the challenge to compose an entire city, creating important examples of Late Modern Architecture during these four decades. This publication is based on several years of multidisciplinary research, featuring a repertoire of more than 150 buildings, all fully illustrated and analyzed in order to understand the dynamics of change and innovation they represent. By reading the presence of the building in the urban context at the architectural level, this volume examines a wide range of buildings selected for their specific qualitative aspects, as examples of particular design methodologies or typologies, or else for the various forms of adaptation to the peculiarities of local environmental conditions.

Following a first volume with 150 carefully selected exemplary buildings, this second volume features interviews, essays and arguments, as well as transcripts of contemporary publications from the years 1949-1989 that showcase the extensive restructuring and redesigning of the city of Kuwait.

Using Kuwait as a case study and Pan Arab Modernism as a lens, this book comes to fill two voids in the literature on Middle Eastern architecture: one is in practice and the other is in history. The current practice of architecture in Kuwait, the Gulf and the larger Middle East, is typically a-contextual and lacking any understanding of the local context. The architectural history, on the other hand, ignores the larger context of the Middle East and the influence of Pan Arabism is not configured into many analyses. Thus, this project seeks to tackle both. By providing a [re]contextualizing of the architectural history of Kuwait and bringing forgotten protagonists back into the dialogue, a nuanced reading of Pan Arab Modern architecture emerges. This book It aims to create a “knowledge generation” which can [re]define how a local generation is being influence on the ground. CONTRIBUTORS: Prof. Eve Blau (GSD, Harvard) on the influence of Oil on Urbanism; Prof. Michael Kubo (Univ. of Houston, Texas) on the relationship between The Architects Collaborative (TAC) and the local Kuwaiti firm Pan Arab Consulting Engineers (now PACE); Caecilia L. Pieri ( Associate Researcher - ‎Institut Français du Proche-Orient) on the influence of Iraq modernisation in Kuwait; Prof. Iain Jackson (Univ. of Liverpool) on the influence of British Architects on the Middle East (tropical architecture, expertise); Prof. Hyun-Tae Jung (Lehigh University) on the relationship between Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) and PACE and the photographic work of the artist Antje Hanebeck commission by PACE for this project.

Building Sharjah reveals how modern architecture unfurled across the United Arab Emirates’ third-largest city. An oil discovery in 1972 positioned Sharjah as one of the world’s final cities shaped by transformative fortune. In the footsteps of Kuwait, Riyadh, and Dubai, Sharjah faced a metamorphosis: either one that repeated the past’s mistakes or one that reimagined how wealth can build a city. Sharjah’s potential enticed an international cast of experts to create a bold, new city. As their projects begin to vanish, this book preserves them through unseen photographs and recovered documents. New writing chronicles how local and arriving residents arranged the designed, concrete environment into a home. Beyond just a local artifact, this book examines the confident promises made by global practices of urbanization.

A penetrating analysis of the modern architectural tradition and its origins. Since its first publication in 1982, Modern Architecture Since 1900 has become established as a contemporary classic. Worldwide in scope, it combines a clear historical outline with masterly analysis and interpretation. Technical, economic, social and intellectual developments are brought together in a comprehensive narrative which provides a setting for the detailed examination of buildings. Throughout the book the author's focus is on the individual architect, and on the qualities that give outstanding buildings their lasting value.For the third edition, the text has been radically revised and expanded, incorporating much new material and a fresh appreciation of regional identity and variety. Seven chapters are entirely new, including expanded coverage of recent world architecture.Described by James Ackerman of Harvard University as "immeasurably the finest work covering this field in existence", this book presents a penetrating analysis of the modern tradition and its origins, tracing the creative interaction between old and new that has generated such an astonishing richness of architectural forms across the world and throughout the century.

"Urban Modernity in the Contemporary Gulf offers a timely and engaging discussion on architectural production in the modernization era in the Arabian Peninsula. Focusing on the 20th century as a starting point, the book explores the display of transnational architectural practices resulting in different notions of locality, cosmopolitanism and modernity. Contextually, with an eye on the present, the book reflects on the initiatives that recently re-engaged with the once ville moderne which, meanwhile, lost its pivotal function and meaning. A city within a bigger city, the urban fabric produced during the modernization era has the potential to narrate the social growth, East-West dynamics, and citizens' memories of the recent past. Reading obsolescence as an opportunity, the book looks into this topic from a cross-country perspective. It maps, reads and analyses the notion of modern heritage in relation to the contemporary city and looks beyond physical transformations to embrace cultural practices and strategies of urban re-appropriation. It interrogates the value of modern architecture in the non-West, examining how academic research is expanding the debate on Gulf urbanism and describes how practices of reuse could foster rethinking neglected areas, also addressing land consumption in the GCC. Presenting a diverse and geographically inclusive authorship, which combines established and up and coming researchers in the field, this is an important reference for academics and upper-level students interested in heritage studies, post-colonial urbanism and architecture in the non-West"--

Inspired by the early style of Corbusier and ideas on Mediterranean architecture espoused by the likes of Bernard Rudofsky and Josep Lluís Sert, a younger generation of architects found the perfect conditions to explore the future of the Mediterranean house in Cadaqués?a small fishing village on the Spanish Costa Brava that was also home, or the summer meeting ground, for some of the past century?s greatest artistic figures, including Dalí, Picasso, Miró, and Duchamp.0In this new book, photos from the period show the distinctive style and environment of Cadaqués and 22 homes designed by Federico Correa, Alfonso Milà, José Antonio Coderch, Francesc Joan Barba Corsini, Peter Harnden, Lanfranco Bombelli, Oscar Tusquets, and Lluís Clotet. Edited by Nacho Alegre, it features an introduction by Oscar Tusquets and also tells of the friendships and influences that existed between this group of architects, and how their architecture came to be.

This book shifts the focus from Critical Regionalism towards a broader concept of 'Transcultural Architecture' and defines Critical Regionalism as a subgroup of the latter. One of the benefits that this change of perspective brings about is that a large part of the political agenda of Critical Regionalism, which consists of resisting attitudes forged by typically Western experiences, is 'softened' and negotiated according to premises provided by local circumstances. At the book’s centre is an analysis of Reima and Raili Pietilä’s Sief Palace Area project in Kuwait. Further cases of modern architecture in China, Korea, and Saudi Arabia show that the critique, which holds that Critical Regionalism is a typical 'western' exercise, is not sound in all circumstances. Furthermore, the book proposes that a certain 'architectural rationality' can be contained in architecture itself - not imposed by outside parameters like aesthetics, comfort or even tradition.

Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Abbreviations -- Chapter 1 Introduction Worldmaking of Architecture -- Chapter 2 A Global Development Path Accra, 1957-66 -- Chapter 3 Worlding Eastern Europe Lagos, 1966-79 -- Chapter 4 The World Socialist System Baghdad, 1958-90 -- Chapter 5 Socialism within Globalization Abu Dhabi and Kuwait City, 1979-90 -- Epilogue and Outlook -- A Note on Sources -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- Image Credits.

A must-have guide to one of the most fertile regions for the development of Mid-Century Modern architecture This handbook - the first ever to focus on the architectural wonders of the West Coast of the USA - provides visitors with an expertly curated list of 250 must-see destinations. Discover the most celebrated Modernist buildings, as well as hidden gems and virtually unknown examples - from the iconic Case Study houses to the glamour of Palm Springs' spectacular Modern desert structures. Much more than a travel guide, this book is a compelling record of one of the USA's most important architectural movements at a time when Mid-Century style has never been more popular. First-hand descriptions and colour photography transport readers into an era of unparalleled style, glamour, and optimism.